Former NBA player Royce White has officially filed paperwork to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, with former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz signing on as his legal counsel in the notice sent to the league office this week.
The declaration, dated Monday and obtained by Fox News Digital, invokes Article XIII of the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, which runs from the 2026 season through 2032. The notice itself refers to it as the “2026–2033” agreement. In the filing, Mr. Gaetz wrote that “Ms. White affirms her eligibility to be considered for selection on that basis,” citing Mr. White’s identification as a transgender woman. The filing also affirms that Mr. White will be at least 22 years old during the draft year and has no remaining college eligibility, and it asks the league to confirm receipt within 10 business days and issue a written eligibility determination.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mr. White said, “We have a right to be included and follow our dreams.”
Mr. White first announced his intention to declare on Aug. 7, hours after fellow former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom made a similar move, sending his own formal letter to the league. Mr. White has said he would pursue legal action if he goes undrafted, framing the challenge as a test of whether the WNBA will clarify its eligibility rules for transgender athletes.
A first-round pick by the Houston Rockets in 2012 out of Iowa State, Mr. White played only nine minutes across three NBA games, all with the Sacramento Kings. He was running for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Minnesota at the time of his initial announcement and lost that primary on Aug. 11 to Michele Tafoya, having previously lost the 2024 general election to incumbent Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
The declarations from Mr. White and Mr. Kanter Freedom have intensified the WNBA’s ongoing debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to team personnel on Aug. 7 acknowledging the issue would “continue to receive significant attention.”
Days later, the league went further, with a spokesperson saying on Thursday that there were “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA” and denouncing “bad-faith efforts” to use the issue to demean or marginalize others. That statement predates this week’s formal filing and did not address it directly; the WNBA has not yet responded to Mr. White’s declaration itself. The controversy follows Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s public comments in July supporting restrictions on transgender athletes in women’s sports, which have drawn recurring rallies at Fever road games since the All-Star break.
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times' AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times' original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.